Entertainment. Pure and unadulterated.

I love intelligent movies. Anything by Stanley Kubrick or M. Night Shyamalan blows my mind. But there are films just as dear to my heart that aren't really intelligent at all. They're just pure entertainment, unbelievable fun. Being a longtime Spider Man devotee, I was a bit biased against this movie, and unsure whether a powerless weakling like Batman could deliver a worthwhile movie. Yea Gods was I mistaken. There are two movies out there that compete for the title of "Best Superhero Movie Ever". Spider Man 2 is one of them (thankfully). This is the other.

Welcome to Gotham City, a fictional metropolis rife with crime, gang wars and petty acts of violence. This is no serene pretty city, a continual overcast hangs over it. All the criminals in the city are concerned about the arrival of a new force in Gotham, the mysterious and dangerous Batman. Rumours are spreading around the city, but very few believe them.

One of the top criminals in the city is Jack Napier. He's a psychotic, who works for one of the richest criminals in town. When the police are about to discover the seedy underside of one of his bosse's "legitimate buisnesses", Jack moves to destroy the evidence. Unfortunately he is ratted out, and the police nearly catch him. He is on the run when Batman shows up. They fight, and Jack falls into a vat of chemicals.

Batman's secret identity is Bruce Wayne, a multi- billionaire and one of the most respected men in Gotham City. His parents were murdered in front of him, and now he feels a responsibility to defend against evil. Evil emerges as Jack re-emerges as the villainous and darkly hilarious Joker. The chemicals have altered his appearence, giving him a clownish guise, but make no mistake. The Joker is evil, murderous, and sadistic, even when cracking a joke. Joker kills his old boss for ratting him out, and takes of crime in the city. The city soon faces a lethal rampage of crime. And only Batman can stop it. At the same time he's trying to balance his secret identity, a love life, and the police who think he might be a mob enforcer.

This is a fairly simple story, but it is very well told. And make no mistake, this is a dark tale. I believe this is one of the few super hero movies to actually be dark and be good. Most of them end up being disgustingly melodramatic like Daredevil. There is a lot of murder. A lot of sadism. It is all excellentely told however. The characters are ones we genuinely care about and hope they suceed.

Two big things that also work to this movies favour are the incredible action sequences and very dark sense of humour. The Joker is one of the best villains in cinema history. In one sequence, after he's grisily fried up one of his opponents all the while laughing like a maniac a man says "Your crazy." The Joker replies "Haven't you ever heard of the healing power of laughter?" You don't know whether to laugh at the Joker or be disgusted at his antics, and this is a combination that works surprisingly well. The action sequences are also very well done, with some really kick a-- fight sequences, a mix of martial arts, shootouts, and just plain a-- whooping. It's all wonderfully entertaining.

The film is helped highly by excellent special effects. Unlike the over the top special effects in Batman and Robin and Batman Forever, the effects here are kept to a minimum, maximizing their effect. This movie was done before CGI so all the effects have a nice, gritty realistic feel to them. The costume and makeup is also expertly done. Batman's costume looks genuinely cool in this movie, very dark and taking advantage of the shadows. The makeup on the Joker is also great. Gods how they could have messed it up. The Joker manages as it is to look sadistic and evil, all the while looking a bit funny while doing it. The sets are all so great, very extreme and crazy, it helps add to the atmosphere.

This film has some truly great performances. Michael Keaton does a great job as Bruce Wayne/Batman. He gives the Dark Knight a genuine Dark feel to him, and air of awful tragedy. At the same time managing to be human and make the audience empathize with his character. And above all else, he's just plain cool.

But the real star here is Jack Nicholson as the Joker. This is one of the rare movies where the Villain is more interesting to watch than the hero. You find wourself cheering for the character despite his evilness. No one plays evil characters like Nicholson, and he gives this one such an over the top, crazy evil feel to him. It's like a mixture of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Crazy and The Shining Crazy. He manages to make you laugh with his black humour, while shaking you with his very real evil attitude. Nicholson owns this role completely, and he is the real highlight of this film. I'd reccomend it based on him alone.

The score is much better than the over the top, in your face one for Batman Forever and Batman and Robin. It is more quiet and mysterious, very simmilar to many of Tim Burton's other films. It isn't afraid to blaze into high gear when it needs to though, and that is the score's greatest strength, it's flexibility. It can thrill you, and make you wonder.

The Direction is clearly Tim Burton. It is sooooo easy to recognize any one of his films. Everything is so extreme and dark, and oftentimes odd. It's a bit less pronounced than in many of his later films like the Nightmare Before Christmas, but it's definately there. A continual overcast hangs over Gotham City, and everything is done to the extreme. I'm a big fan of Tim Burton though, and was thoroughly impressed with the direction he took the film in. Batman needs to be dark, he is the Dark Knight after all. Lots of neat and original angles, lots of weird shots, many architecturally impossible but amazing to look at sets. I loved the direction in this film.

Batman is simply pure entertainment. It is easily a leading contender for my favourite super hero movie. Rarely have I ever had so much fun watching a film.